Not gonna happen
by whitestranger
Summary: Neal belongs to Peter. A little darker than my last fic, and features a definite territorial Peter
1. Chapter 1

Free Write #2

01/24/11

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar and I am not making money off of this fic. I am possibly making a grade in my writing class, but that is my business. So will the lawyers kindly vacate my property.

Peter Burke walked into the conference room that visiting FBI team was using. The team was part of the Major Crimes division. They had come to New York tracking a gang of home invaders. The gang had hit more than 25 homes in three states and rumor had it that New York was to be there fourth.

The head of the team, Nathan White, looked up from where he was examining a file with Burke's ex-con consultant, Neal Caffrey. "Something you need Burke?" White asked. Neal glanced at Peter, before going back to looking at the file. White had requisitioned Neal's help with infiltrating the gang.

"Neal, Cruz needs you to come decipher one of those reports you filled out," Burke said. "She said, and I quote, 'it looks like he was asleep when he filled this out, and I'm not taking the blame,' end quote."

"Are you sure she just doesn't want some of my attention," Neal said getting up from the table. "I mean, I have been neglecting her this week." Walking towards the door, Neal winked at Peter, showing that he was only joking.

"Yeah, that's the reason she threatening to stab your cartoon hat," Peter joked back. Neal paled, hand going to his head, as he realized that he had left his hat on his desk.

"Cruz, please have mercy. That hat's a classic," Neal called as he hurried downstairs to his desk.

White started to speak, but Burke held up his hand as he watched Neal reach his desk. As soon as he was convinced that Cruz had Neal occupied, Burke turned back to White. "Did you tell him," he asked White.

"Tell who what?"

"About Freddy."

White swore, running a hand through his pepper-gray hair. "Listen, I don't know who told you about Freddy, but I swear it was an accident."

Burke looked at the agent as he opened the file he had been carrying in his left hand. Pulling out a photo, he slammed it down on the table. White and the other agents in the room glanced away. "Ten hours of torture, followed by dismemberment by a chainsaw is an accident," he stated, looking White square in the eye. "And this is an accident that you weren't going to mention to my consultant."

"Burke, I'll admit that we have tried before to get someone inside this group," White stated, "but you have to understand that there was no way that we could have known what would happen to our informant. It won't happen this time."

"I requested a copy of your case file, when you first requested Neal's help. I didn't like what I saw. I liked it even less last night at dinner when I saw that the copy you gave him had been altered. You left out a lot of information, such conditions of the bodies, the escalating violence, the last informant's death, and the psych profile on the leader. Nice job, by the way on keeping that out of the media."

"Caffrey didn't need to know that stuff," White explained.

"He didn't need to know that stuff," Burke said slowly, grabbing the photo and holding it for White to see. "He didn't need to know that the leader is a sociopath with paranoid tendencies. A criminal who apparently told 'Freddy' that his victims were food that he greatly enjoyed playing with. Neal didn't need to know that you were dropping him into the sharks' tank after pouring in a bag of blood."

"It's not like that, Burke," White started still trying to avoid looking at the photo. "Freddy's death was an inconvenience," Burke started to interrupt but White held up his hands, asking for a chance to explain. Burke glared but kept silent. "But Freddy like Caffrey, was a convict. And this is their world, so Caffrey will be able to slip in easily. And besides, Caffrey is not an agent; he's FBI property, and expendable. So this conversation is over."

"You're right in saying that he is property, but what you don't understand is that he is my property. For the rest of his sentence, he belongs to me. I decide whether or not he is expendable, and which agents he works with. And you are not one of them."

"You can't do that. Caffrey," White started but he was interrupted as Peter placed the photo back in the file.

"I already did, and the higher-ups agree with me," Burke stated turning towards the door. "Don't come near my consultant again, or the reckless endangerment charges you're facing will be upped to attempted murder."

"Endangerment, murder. What are you talking about?" White shouted.

"You admitted that you held back information about the suspect. You said that you were going to let him walk in there, without telling him about the danger or the death of your last informant," Burke said opening the door, "And I'm telling you that it's not gonna happen, and if you decide to pursue this, I'll arrest you."

Before he walked out, Burke looked back at White, smiled, and said, "Have a nice day,"


	2. Chapter 2

Free Write #4

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar. I'm just playing for a little bit. So stop sending threats of lawsuits. Or if you want to continue, have Matt Bomer deliver them.

It was almost 11 p.m. before Peter decided to call it a night. He turned off the lights in his office and started for the stairs. He needed to go downstairs to records to collect Neal, since he was the man's ride home for today. As he walked towards the stairs, he thought about what had happened after he had left Agent White in the conference room.

For the rest of the day, he had kept Neal away from White by having Neal running between the office and the records room. Neal had asked why Peter suddenly needed him to play fetch, but Peter had avoided the question with a simple, "because I said so."

The truth however, was that Peter simply didn't know why he avoided telling Neal the truth. Neal would have understood that Peter was trying to protect him, but Peter didn't think he would have understood why White thought he was expendable as piece of scrap paper. "_Then again Neal knows that many of the agents dislike him because of his ex-con status_," Peter thought, thinking of the various agents in the office who glared at Neal every time he smiled and said good morning to them. There were even some who would come to Peter to confer about intersecting cases and wouldn't even acknowledge that Neal was in the room. "_He probably would just shrug it off, smile and go ahead with the case…_"

Peter stopped suddenly as he went through the door to the stairwell as he realized just why he was upset. "Neal would still go through it," Peter said out loud, his voice echoing slightly in the closed in stairwell. Walking over to the head of the stairs, he slowly sank down to where he could sit on the top steps. For five minutes he sat there, thinking about the con-man that he himself and practically every agent on staff always associated with as being just another criminal, willing to do whatever to get what he wanted. "Everything except actually hurt someone," he whispered, thinking about all the times the blue-eyed man had stated that he hated guns. "He never carries and White thinks that he should be sent in among guys that would probably at home among cannibals."

"_Well, at least I stopped that one_," he thought, getting up and starting down the stairs. "_White will just have to find some other way to stop the gang_."

The records room was two floors down from his office, so it didn't take long for Peter to reach it. He exited the stairs, and was surprised to see his boss, Reese Hughes waiting for him just outside the records room door. Peter started smiled as he walked towards the older man, but was surprised when his boss held up a hand. "Peter, I'm sorry," Hughes started. Peter looked confused as he glanced at the records door, surprised to see that the lights were turned off.

"_Caffrey wouldn't be sitting in there in the dark_," he realized. He looked backed at his boss, questions in his eyes. "What happened," he demanded.

"White called in a few of his own favors," Hughes explained, avoiding looking in his subordinate's eyes. After two years, he still was uncertain of the partnership between his best agent and a master con, but somehow those two made it work. And Hughes did have to admit that Caffrey seemed to be loyal to Burke. In return, Burke was very protective of Caffrey. It was the knowledge of that protective streak that had made Hughes fight so hard trying to keep Caffrey off the case when White's superior had called him.

"Peter, I'm sorry but they didn't give me any choice," Hughes stated, finally looking Burke in the eye. "I managed to get White to agree to give Caffrey the full case file. He'll know what he's getting into."

"I've got to go down there," Peter started, but Hughes held up his hand again.

"White said if he sees you there, he'll arrest you, and his superior agreed."

"But…"

"I will call you tomorrow," Hughes interrupted firmly. "Until then, go home and get some rest."

"You aren't giving any choice are you?"

"No"

"Fine," Peter sighed, accepting the inevitable. He turned to leave and said, "Call me the second there's news.

Hughes nodded as he watched the other man leave.

Peter obeyed his superior's instructions, going home. El was already asleep by the time he joined her in bed. He laid there staring at the ceiling, wondering for an hour at about what was happening, and what could happen when the agent watching Neal's back didn't actually care. Finally, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

RING

RING

It was 3:28 in the morning when the phone started ringing. Peter woke up disoriented for a moment, El already reaching across him for the phone on the nightstand, eyes still closed in sleep.

Seeing that it was his phone in her hand, he quickly snagged it out of her grip. Flipping it open, he held it up to his ear saying, "Burke."

Peter went still as he listened to the voice on the other end. El, now fully awake, waited for him to speak as he closed the phone and stared at it in his hand for a moment.

"What's wrong," she asked, voice groggy with sleep.

"Neal's in transport to the hospital," he said, getting up and hurrying to get dressed. He reached for his pants, as he explained, "Hughes didn't know everything, but he says it's bad."

He turned to grab a shirt out of the closet only to find El already handing him one, half dressed herself. "You let Satchmo out, I'll get the car," she said hurrying to the door as she pulled on her shirt.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar. I just like playing with them. I'll give them back, as soon as I have Peter kick White where it will really count. And so by request, Neal's POV.

Light is a fascinating thing. Neal had always thought so. And right now, Neal found light to be the most fascinating thing in the world, with the way the light was revealing so many hidden colors in the white walls. Accents of shimmering gold and blinding yellow were being revealed to him as watched the light dance across the walls. And the walls themselves, appeared to be dancing too, bending and rippling with the light in a constant motion. Unfortunately, he had to turn away from the show, since the motion of the light and the walls was making his head ache. "Or that might have been the gun they hit me with," Neal thought, turning his head to the left.

That motion made Neal realize that he was lying down somewhere. As he laid there trying to figure out where here was, he noticed someone staring back at him. It was hard to see the person looking at him. The light was making him ripple just like walls. Still the person was obviously lying down on the bed next to him. Neal decided that this must be some one he trusted, since he had never went to bed with just anyone. It was always some one he could trust to still be there when he woke. He felt that he should say something to this person. Hopefully, soon he would remember who person was exactly. "Good morning."

"_Hmm."_

"I said good morning."

"_Neal?"_

"yes." Strange the person's voice seemed to as ripply as the person. Perhaps this was another effect of the light. It did seem to be affecting things very strangely today. Neal decided to ignore it.

"_Neal, could you look at me please."_

"I am looking at you. I have to admit the lights making difficult." Neal really liked the other person's voice, despite the rippling. It reminded him of Peter's voice. Maybe that was why Neal had decide to trust this person. Because their voice was like the voice of the one person who Neal would always trust.

"If you say so. "

"_Do you know where you are."_

"A bed."

"Technically that's true."

"Tech…nnn…ichally." Neal smiled at the way that word sounded. "That's fun to say. Tech…."

"_Neal, please focus. Do you remember what happened last night when you went to meet that gang."_

"The ones that White was trying to arrest." Neal remembered some of that night. He had been in the records room when White came to get him. White had given him some parts of the case file that he hadn't seen before. Then…"I met with one of the members. He took me to a place to meet the rest. I think White was following with his team."

"_Something happened, something wrong."_

Neal tried to think about the meeting, but it was hard. The light kept making the person bend, and that made his head hurt more. Still, Neal kept trying to focus on the person. He could finally make out the man's blue eyes. Those eyes felt familiar too. "I went in to the meeting, some backroom in a …bar or club."

"_Then what happened."_

"I met with the gang's leader. He was really familiar looking." Neal laughed, delighted with that word, familiar. It sounded really good on his tongue. He said it again slowly, to draw out his fun. "Faaa…miii…liiaar."

"_Neal focus, please."_

"Okay." Neal obeyed at once. It was strange the way this voice affected him so much. Normally Peter was the only one who could make him react like that. This person must be very trustworthy if he was making Neal react like Peter made him. Maybe trustworthy enough to explain…"hmm"

"_Hmm, what."_

"hmm, I have a secret."

"_Is the secret about the familiar man?"_

"he's part of it." Not a big part, but the man was definitely connected. Neal wished someone could told him about the man being part of it. He could have told White that his plan wouldn't work.

"_Will you tell me?"_

"Well…" Neal thought about it. There was something about this secret that made it so he shouldn't tell. Something important, something…

"_Please."_

"Okay, but don't tell Peter. He might want send me back to prison. This was kinda illegal, sorta." The person had said please after all. Now if he could just remember who this person was and figure out why the light make the person look so ripply. It made it so hard to focus on the person lying beside him. He tried to crane his neck to a different angle, so he could see better. The person must have had the same idea, because he moved too. Finally Neal gave up, and just laid there staring at the person. The person stared back.

"_Please talk to me."_

"I went to South America once. There was a drug smuggler with a 14-year old daughter." Neal remembered that girl. She was very sweet, but so scared. "the guy leading that gang was the drug guy's nephew. They look alike. Alike. Alike. That's a fun word too."

"_Neal."_

"oh, yeah. Well…the drug guy was fighting over territory with another drug guy. Some 45-year old." Neal remembered how scared the girl was, but also how very beautiful. It was no wonder what had happened when the two men finally reached a compromise. "The 45 year old wanted to marry the girl. She didn't want. Wanted to be a vet, loved animals."

"_What happened."_

"I was working for the man as an app…rais…errrrrrr… I was looking at the man's paintings. He had a Monet." Neal remembered that painting. He was glad that he had managed to grab it before they left. "The marriage was supposed to tie the two men together, a family alliance."

"_Neal, did you help the girl."_

"I offered, and she agreed." She had been scared, but was willing to go along with his plan. He had thought it was a very smart plan. All had to do was drill a few air-holes. "I snuck her out of the country in a coffin. No body really looks at a coffin. Toooo creepy. Unfortunately the 45-guy got mad at the drug guy. And the drug guy got mad at me."

"_Neal, that's kidnapping."_

"That's why I said, don't tell Peter. Besides, how can a rescue really be a kidnapping." Neal had been glad when they had finally gotten to Canada. There were so nice boarding schools there. "I set her up with a private scholarship, a private school, and now she is getting ready to graduate college."

"_Really."_

"Yep, going to go on to vet school." Neal had arranged for a trust fund through a secure bank. That money and a few scholarships the girl had won made it possible for her to go to school without any loans. Still, Neal was glad that he had managed to deposit a substantial amount of money in the account before he had been sent to prison. He couldn't just help her and then abandon her. Especially if any more members of her old family were still around. "The drug guy got attacked by the 45-guy and the nephew blamed me. I remember hearing about how the rest of the drug guy's family had to flee South America. I guess that's when the nephew ended up hear. Quite a career change."

"_Change?"_

"He used to be his uncle's enforcer. A really important guy. Probably thinks home invasion is beneath him."

"_And he recognized you."_

"Yeah and he was mad. Hit me with a gun and tied me to a table." That had been really scary. The guy said he was going to make Neal pay for what had happened to his uncle. Neal had kept saying the codeword over and over again. It had taken White and the others so long to get into that room. "He tried to cut my hand off. Are my hands still there? I don't want to look."

"_There's a cut on your wrist, but it's been stitched up, and both hands are still attached. Still okay."_

"Good, I was scared that I had lost them."

"_I'm sorry Neal."_

"It's okay. I just wish that someone had mentioned that in the witness statements." Neal still wasn't sure why no one had shown him those before last night. White had said something about a misprint or something. Neal hadn't really questioned it since he had needed to head home to change before his meeting. He had read the statements on the way to his apartment and while he had gotten dressed. "Ethan Clark had the best descriptions, but he never mentioned having a glimpse of the guy. It would have been nice if even Mrs. Browning could have mentioned something about the leader."

"_Ethan Clark"_

"Yeah"

"_And Mrs. Rita Browning."_

"You know her?" Neal hadn't mentioned her first name. Or did he? Things were very confusing right now. The light was starting to make him dizzy. Maybe the person would let him go back to sleep.

"_Did you read statements that those people gave? Neal, answer me please."_

"Yes."

"_Where are those statements?"_

"I forgot them at my apartment. I think I forgot the rest of the file too."

"_Okay Neal, how about you go back to sleep now."_

"Okay, good night." Neal was glad that he was finally able to go back to sleep. He hoped that he hadn't insulted the man since he had never remembered his name. Still maybe Peter would be there when he woke up.

Peter waited until he was sure that Neal was truly asleep before turning to look back at his wife and team. He was perched on the side of Neal's bed. El had taken the chair closet to the bed, and his agents were in the chairs beside the window. Jones and Cruz had arrived not long after he and El had gotten there. That had been seven hours ago. Neal had since been through surgery to repair the cut on his wrist, a broken leg, broken ribs, and internal bleeding that had occurred after one of the ribs had scraped some of his internal organs. Still the doctors had said that Neal was going to make a full recovery.

Once Neal had been moved into a private room, Peter had let El speak to the doctor until she had the man convinced of the importance of letting them into the room.

Cruz was the first one to speak, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "When do we tell him that he was talking to his reflection on a metal clipboard."

"Probably when he comes off the pain meds that made him think that his reflection was another person," Jones replied.

"Uh, I think I should point out that, Neal is drugged," Cruz offered, certain that someone should mention this soon before anyone said anymore about what Neal had revealed. She didn't like the con-man flirting with her all the time, but she did respect the work he had done since he and Burke had made their deal. So with that respect in mind, she decided to help the con-man a little. "Since Neal was drugged, any confession he made can't really count as a confession. After all, he can't even understand any of his rights right now. Especially the right about remaining silent."

Peter didn't say anything, still upset by what he had just realized. El also remained quiet, one eye on Neal's sleeping form and the other on her husband. She had already decided that when Neal was released, he was coming home with them. June was away for two weeks, and her staff had been given a two week paid vacation. El wasn't sure where Mozzie was at the moment. So if would be better for Neal to stay with them during his recovery. "And it would be a relief for the two of us to have him close by where we can make sure he actually rests," she thought knowing that the former con-man had a habit of getting into trouble. El finally spoke up, "What is so important about those statements?"

Jones and Cruz watched as Burke stood up from the bed. His voice was low and even, as he spoke. "Ethan Clark and Rita Browning are some of the gangs victims. Ethan Clark had been stabbed 33 times when his body was found stuffed in a closet. Rita Browning was found three days after her home was invaded." Burke looked down at Caffrey once more as he carefully ruffled that normally perfectly styled hair, a move that normally would cause the younger man to get mad. "I'm wondering how two corpses were able to give witness statements."

"Boss," Jones stood up as he realized what Burke was implying. "Are you saying that White faked witness statements. Why?"

"Rumors about drug lords and bounties," Cruz interrupted, remembering the paper she had written on Caffrey years ago. She had never found anything to substantiate the rumors, so she had made no mention of it in her paper. Now she was wishing that she had spent more time on the rumor. "I heard a rumor about some drug family having it in for Caffrey. I never heard a name or anything that supported it. I guess I should…"

"What if White heard the same rumors, but with more details, " El offered.

"And if he did hear the rumors, he probably wouldn't want to risk Neal getting scared," Jones added. He was shocked at the idea that a fellow agent would take the risk that White obviously had. "White was under pressure to close this case. "

"That's not an excuse," Burke snapped. He was mad, mad because he had warned the higher-ups that White was endangering Neal's life by concealing important facts. He had warned them, and had been ignored, and Neal had almost paid the price. And White had apparently signed his own doom with those statements. "Jones come with me, we're going to Neal's to get that file. Cruz, stay here, guard Neal and be a witness for El."

"Sir," Cruz asked, her eyes puzzled by her boss's orders.

"He means Lauren, that I am angry" El said from her spot beside Neal's hospital bed. She reached over the rails of the bed to grip Neal's hand. She was mad that someone could have risked Neal in such a way. Especially since Neal still would have agreed to help. He just would have found another way to "And that if White shows up here, you need to be here to testify that I was provoked. Especially if my high heel shoe ends up someplace very uncomfortable for White."


	4. Chapter 4

Free Write #6

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar, and am not making any money off of this fic. I am trying to make a grade in my class, but that is no reason to sue me. Thank you

"What do you mean you can't prosecute him." It was four hours after Peter and Jones had left El and Cruz in the hospital to watch over Neal. Cruz had offered to wait outside the door, in case Neal had woken up and said something else incriminating, but El had nixed that idea. She had reminded Lauren that if Neal started saying something he shouldn't all El had to do was put her hand over his mouth until he stopped. Peter and Jones had left after that and with a quick phone call, met with Hughes and a few evidence techs outside Neal's apartment.

Burke and Jones had hung back as the older agent directed the techs to collect the case file Neal had left spread out on his bed. Peter knew that he had to stay out of this part of the investigation, since any two-bit defense attorney could use his involvement with the victim to get White off. That knowledge didn't stop Peter from wanting to take that doctored case file and shove it in White's face along with his fist.

That had been three hours ago, and since then, Hughes had and White's superior, Special Agent Carter via video conference, had examined the file Neal had been given. There were five witness statements included in the file, each one supposedly given by one of the victims. White's superior had confirmed that all five had died before being found by police and/or neighbors. He also confirmed that the file Neal was given did not contain the statements from the original informant, Freddy. The techs had also confirmed that the only prints on the file were Neal's and White's.

Then Carter told them of the statement that had not been included in the official report. Freddy had identified and even photographed the head of the gang before his murder. Carter said that White had thought the man, Berengeur Islava, might have connections to an old drug family he had heard of during his time with the DEA. He thought White might have made a few calls, but he had never mentioned it again.

Jones himself, had a friend with the DEA, so he had called and discovered that White had called and been told all about Islava's uncle, the failed marriage alliance, and about the rumors of Caffrey's involvement. "According to my friend," Jones had reported an hour and a half ago. "The man who kidnapped the daughter was never positively identified, but he did resemble Caffrey. Also, a valuable Monet went missing from the Islavas' collection at the same time. The head of the family and Berengeur's father died at the hands of the rival family. White was told all of this, including the fact the few remaining family members blamed and wanted revenge against that man."

Hughes had inquired if there was any evidence that the man in question was Caffrey. Peter had told him that there was no legal evidence supporting the theory. White had most likely taken the chance that Caffrey's resemblance to the man would be enough to set off Islava. Neither Jones nor Burke mentioned Neal's drug induced confession, since as Cruz had pointed out, Neal had no idea what he was saying.

This is what Burke, Hughes, and Carter had spent the last hour explaining to the District Federal Attorney. From what they had gathered, it was clear that White had used Neal as bait to draw out Islava, record the man attacking Neal, and arrest him. White had then used that arrest to find the evidence to connect the man to the home invasions. Now the DFA was telling him that they couldn't arrest White for setting Neal up to be attacked, if not murdered.

"I am not saying that I can't prosecute him," the woman explained. She had been listening quietly while the whole case had been laid out before her in the White Collar Conference room. It was clear to her as well that White had gone too far to close his case, and something had to be done. Still she knew that it would not be as easy as Burke obviously wanted it to be. "I'm saying that it will be tough to prosecute him without opening a very large can of worms, starting with that gang."

"Once word gets out that White faked evidence in this case, every case he ever worked on will come under review," Hughes said, his hand reaching up to rub at his temple, as if in anticipation of the headaches to come. "The members of the gang will have just have to say that White set them up and the judge will dismiss all the charges."

"And the same thing will happen with all his other cases," Burke finished, with a sigh. "A can worms indeed. Why did White do this, especially since Neal would have helped him anyway."

"So we have two options here," The woman began, standing up and beginning to pace back and forth across the enclosed room. "The first option isn't really an option since the option is just to ignore this and go on with the case."

"And thus set the precedent that it's okay to set up our CIs as tin cans on a fence," Peter snapped. "Thus inviting anyone and everyone take a shot at them."

"I can assure you Agent Burke, I am not about to set up a sharpshooter demonstration," The DFA quickly assured him. "That is why I said it is not really an option. What is an option is a round of deals."

Carter cut in at this point, "Wait a minute, these guys are animals, you can't deal with them."

"I don't have a choice," she said before stopping and looking directly at Peter. "It's your choice. I can try to convict White along with these men or I can deal. I offer them all immunity on Caffrey's assault. I make it plain that White set Caffrey up and used these guys as smoking guns. With that in place, I can make a case that the evidence tying them to the home invasions were uncovered during a crime where they too were the victims. I then go on to get at least two out of the five men involved to agree to testify, three if I am lucky. I'll take the death penalty off the table, but it will still be hard to convict."

"Several of the victims were young children. They may jump at the chance if you offer protective custody as part of it," Hughes offered.

"A point I will be sure to bring up." She conceded. The DFA looked carefully at Burke as she spoke. "The only way I can get White and this gang is to go ahead with this plan. It will cause a lot families to get angry at not seeing all the members of this gang fry, but since Islava was most likely the main instigator, they may be happy at seeing him get the death penalty."

She looked into Peter's eyes as she leaned on the conference table to ask him, "It's your decision Agent Burke. Your CI, your choice. Do I deal, or take the chance on a sympathetic judge."


	5. Chapter 5

Free Write#7

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar, and I am not making any money off this fic.

It was close to 9 p.m. before Peter managed to get back to the hospital. Jones had stayed behind to secure a warrant for White's arrest. As he walked down the grayish-white hallways, he dreaded having to explain to El that they weren't charging Neal's attackers. "_It hadn't really been a tough decision to make in the end_," he thought, as he considered the facts that he had been presented with. They only way that they were going to put White behind bars and the members of the gang was to make those deals. "_El will understand in the end, but she won't be happy._"

Peter was only a few feet from Neal's hospital room when a nurse suddenly flew past him, and hurried into Neal's room. Fearing the worst, the FBI agent hurried after the nurse towards the room where he could now hear voices shouting in anger. Upon reaching the door, Peter took a moment to survey the scene before raising his fingers to his lips and whistling sharply. All the occupants, save for the nurse and White, stopped talking and moving to stare at Peter.

Cruz had her arms wrapped around El from behind, clearly holding her back. El was shaking and rubbing one of her hands, her feet planted apart, ready to spring forward if Cruz relaxed her grip. White has hunched over, one hand covering his obviously bleeding nose, and the other was hovering near his groin. Neal was still in his hospital bed, shaking and looking at Peter with eyes that were still clouded, but this time with pain, not pain drugs. His injured wrist was being tended to by the nurse. The nurse released Neal's wrist for a moment to reach for the phone on the wall. She spoke quietly to the person on the other end, before returning to tending to Neal's wrist, which Peter now realized was bleeding.

"Okay, El stand down," Peter said, moving forward into the room. It took a few moments, but El slowly relaxed and straightened up. Cruz relaxed after a few moments, releasing her hold on his wife, and slowly moving in between the event planner and the injured agent. Peter didn't blame her, considering the way that El was still looking at White. He was about to ask what happened, when White finally straightened up.

"You are under arrest for assaulting a federal agent," he stated, pointing at El. She glared back at him, her hands on her hips. Cruz moved forward, blocking their view of each other. Peter couldn't blame her for wanting to keep the two apart. He motioned for Cruz to report.

"Sir, White entered and said that he was arresting Neal for suspicion of kidnapping," Cruz started. White tried to interrupt, but Burke waved him silent. "Mrs. Burke stated that Neal was hurt, but White ignored her and grabbed Caffrey's wrist. It was the cut wrist and Caffrey, for lack of a better word, flinched. That's when White twisted Caffrey's wrist to put on the cuffs, and Caffrey screamed."

"He was trying to pull away," White interjected. "That's resisting arrest."

"He's hurt, and you were making it worse," El fired back.

"Mrs. Burke then told him to let go," Cruz resumed, holding her hands up between the two. She was not interested in a repeat of the last five minutes. "White ignored her, and that's when we saw the blood. Mrs. Burke told him Caffrey was bleeding, and again, he ignored her. That's when she decked him, and then her knee slammed into White's…" Cruz made a motion downwards, indicating the area with a blush.

"I don't blame her," the nurse stated as an orderly entered carrying a suture kit. "In fact I probably woulda helped her. He pulled this patient's stitches out and I can see the bruises forming from his hands." The nurse looked as if she was considering doing some damage of her own to White, but luckily for him, she became busy at that moment repairing the damage to Neal's wrist. Neal relaxed as the nurse injected a drug into his IV. As he started to slump forward due to the sedative/pain killer mixture, the nurse caught his shoulders and eased him back against the pillows. Then she started to quietly re-stitch the cut.

"She attacked me when I was arresting a kidnapper," White started again, but Peter interrupted.

"If you've got proof of that, the agency will find it when it reviews your files," he stated moving closer to his wife. As much as he wanted to be the one to do this, he knew the DFA was right. He was too close.

"I'll be presenting it myself when I bring him in, Burke," White replied, with his arms across his chest. He started to move back towards Neal, obviously intent on finishing his arrest. El started forward as well, and White stepped back quickly, with one of his hands moving downward, to protect himself. Peter was tempted to let El at him, but that would a move guaranteed to get her arrested for assault. Right now, if the nurse agreed to testify, they could dismiss this as a simple case of self-defense.

"No you won't," Peter stated, turning to face White completely. Burke caught a glimpse of the door, and he smiled as Jones came through the door.

"Agent White, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Neal Caffrey, for reckless endangerment, and falsifying evidence," Jones stated as he placed his set of steel handcuffs around White's wrist. Cruz joined Jones at the door and started to read White his rights as the two perp-walked the soon-to-be-former agent out of the room.

Peter put his arm around El as they waited for the nurse to finish. As the woman worked, Peter looked down at El and smiled. "What happened to the high heel?"

She smiled back as she replied, "If he had bent backwards instead of forwards, I would have used it. Since he didn't, I had to use my knee."


	6. Chapter 6

Free Write #8

3/07/2011

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar, and the only thing I am making off of this story is grade in my creative writing class. Now, that is no reason to sue me… right?

Peter Burke woke disoriented at first. He reached almost blindly for the drawer where he kept his gun safe before recognized the small cry that had awoken him. Shutting the drawer silently without removing the contents, he got up from the bed without waking his wife. Peter glanced at the clock on the nightstand as he left the room. "_Its 2:30 in the morning_," he thought down the hallway. "_No wonder I'm half asleep_."

It was two weeks after White's arrest and the hospital had only just released Neal yesterday morning. El had of course insisted on Neal coming home with them, and Peter had no objections. Something had been off with the former con-man for during his entire hospital stay. "_He barely even charmed half the nursing staff_," Peter thought as he reached the guest room door. Past experience had taught him that Neal should have charmed every nurse, most of the doctors, even some of the male orderlies. "_And if that doesn't prove that something is wrong, then I'll eat Neal's hat_."

He slowly opened the door to survey the thrashing figure on the bed. Neal was still asleep, tangling himself up in the covers as he fought the images in his dreams. He was biting his lips to keep quiet, but small distressed sounds were still managing to escape. Peter moved quickly into the room, moving the crutches away from the bed. He braced himself as he grasped Neal's shoulders to shake the younger man awake.

CRACK

Peter pressed one palm to his throbbing cheek as he tried to get up from the floor. He had known it could happen, but he still hadn't been fully prepared for Neal to wake up swinging. Thankfully Neal had stopped with one swing and was now sitting pressed up against the headboard. His wide eyes stared at Peter and then quickly scanned the room searching for his unseen attackers, before coming back to rest on Peter. "We'll, that will be something to explain in the morning," he said settling on the bed opposite Neal.

"Sorry," Neal whispered.

"It's okay," Peter replied. He sat there watching quietly to see what Neal would do. Neal just remained silent, rubbing the bandage on his wrist. Peter reached over to stop him, holding the injured wrist in his hand. "it's okay, you know. White accepted a deal this morning, he'll serve 25 to 30 years."

Neal still remained silent.

"If its Islava, I can guarantee you'll never see him again. The members of his gang all turned on him. They spend the rest of their lives in jail, he'll get the death penalty."

Still silent.

"So this must be about the DFA's visit."

Neal doesn't react.

"And the girl."

Neal looks away.

Peter looks carefully at Neal, judging his next words. "You told her that the girl took your plane ticket, ran away on her own, and died in a car accident on the way to the airport."

"Yes."

"We checked, and there was a fatal accident that day. Car exploded, made it really hard to identify the victim."

"I had followed her to get my ticket back. Saw it happen."

"And the Islavas' blame you because…"

"It was my ticket that she stole, and sometimes it is easier to blame others than simple circumstance."

Peter looks at Neal who has started fiddling with the edges of his pillow. They are both silent for a time, until finally Neal sighs, and asks Peter, "Wanna hear a hypothetical?"

"Sure."

"Hypothetically, if that girl had lived," Neal starts, pulling something out from beneath his pillow. It was a piece of paper that he pressed into Peter's hands. As Peter glanced down at the paper, Neal continued. "if she had lived, then she would have been that girl."

It was an article from a Canadian newspaper that had been downloaded from the paper's online archive and printed out. The article detailed how a college graduate had won a large scholarship to one of the top Canadian veterinary schools. It also described how the girl was an orphan who had made her way through school and a 4-year college through her own hard work, scholarships, and grants. It featured a large photo of the girl shaking hands with the family who had founded the scholarship. The photo was fuzzy, and not very close up, but Peter could see that the girl was blonde, tall, and framed by two large dogs standing at waist height on either side of her. The caption below the photo described the dogs as being her constant companions since the death of her parents; N, a German Shepherd Doberman mix and C, a Great Dane. Peter was about to put down the article when he noticed the girl's name. He looked up at Neal and snapped, "Pearl Bailey."

"Her uncle was a fan." Neal smiled at Peter's frown. "Hey, doesn't she just look like a Pearl."

"Yeah, a real Pearl, Neal," Peter leaned back on one hand and considered what Neal had just said. "She seems like a great girl. With two very large dogs."

"Attack dogs trained to protect her."

"The article doesn't say that."

"I'm inferring," Neal replied.

"Tell me this." Peter locked eyes Neal, carefully choosing his words. He was starting to realize where Neal was going with this conversation and he wanted to be certain. "Hypothetically, if this girl was the missing Ilsava girl, why would you tell people that she was dead?"

"Because no one looks for dead people. They just focus all anger on the one responsible or just the one they blame," Neal stated calmly, rubbing his injured wrist again. Peter again stopped him. "The Islava family blames me, and while the guy who hurt is gone, he still has a couple other family members drifting around. They focus on me, no one hurts her. Hypothetically."

"Hypothetically. It's late, you need to sleep now," Peter agreed. He stood up and helped Neal to adjust the covers until Neal was no longer tangled up, but actually underneath the covers. When Neal was settled, Peter leaned down and gave him a quick hug. "They'll have to go through me first, Neal."

Neal looked at Peter, and started to speak, but Peter just shushed him and ruffled Neal's dark hair. "Get some sleep. I have a case you can work on here since you aren't allowed to back to the office for another week-and-a-half." And with that Peter turned off the lights and shut the door on the way back to his room.

Author's Note: This is the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and I thank everyone for the reviews and also the advice. This has been so much fun. Also, kudos to everyone who figures out the thing about the girl's name.


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